Hi My name is Rage Skilling. As you can figure out from the title of this topic I am considering joining the Coast Guard. A little background on myself. I am a Marine with a little more than a year left on contract and looking towards the future. I've been to two different duty station; MCB Okinawa and MCB Camp Lejeune. Sadly, no deployments to the sand box which I am not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. It's been an interesting ride so far. I would join the Marine Corps Reserve but my job doesn't transfer over to the Reserve side so I'm considering doing something new and "starting over." I am fine with going to boot camp and being an E-3 again. There are worse things in the world. I'd rather do that then change fields, go to a school, maintain my rank (e-4, with a possibility of being an e-5), go to my new unit and be lost in the sause. To me that would be a leadership issue. How can I lead Marines if I'm just as new and confused as E-1?

Welcome aboard. It's always refreshing to see a prior service member that did the research and knows what they're getting into. Good luck to you in your enlistment process. You'll have to wait until you're within 90 days of your ETS date to meet with a recruiter, and will have to get an approved Request for Conditional Release (DD368) to release you from any IRR time you will have remaining. Other than that, the process shouldn't be too difficult for you.

Welcome, we wish you the best! Thanks for your service to our great country!

What a unique name you have! Thanks for your service!

Thank you for your service. I too am a prior Marine. I am a former 0331 and 0352. I made the switch back in 1992 and am still loving it. It took me a while to adjust to the few differences, but it has definitely been worth it! What rate are you considering?